A Fine Mess

A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer, and More Efficient Tax System

De: T. R. Reid

Narrado por: T.R. Reid

New York Times bestelling author T. R. Reid travels around the world to solve the urgent problem of America's failing tax code, unravelling a complex topic in plain English - and telling a rollicking story along the way.

The U.S. tax code is a total write-off. Crammed with loopholes and special interest provisions, it works for no one except tax lawyers, accountants, and huge corporations. Not for the first time, we have reached a breaking point. That happened in 1922, and again in 1954, and again in 1986. In other words, every thirty-two years. Which means that the next complete overhaul is due in 2018. But what should be in this new tax code? Can we make the U.S. tax system simpler, fairer, and more efficient? Yes, yes, and yes. Can we cut tax rates and still bring in more revenue? Yes.

Other rich countries, from Estonia to New Zealand to the UK—advanced, high-tech, free-market democracies—have all devised tax regimes that are equitable, effective, and easy on the taxpayer. But the United States has languished. So byzantine are the current statutes that, by our government’s own estimates, Americans spend six billion hours and $10 billion every year preparing and filing their taxes. In the Netherlands that task takes a mere fifteen minutes! Successful American companies like Apple, Caterpillar, and Google effectively pay no tax at all in some instances because of loopholes that allow them to move profits offshore. Indeed, the dysfunctional tax system has become a major cause of economic inequality.

In A Fine Mess, T. R. Reid crisscrosses the globe in search of the exact solutions to these urgent problems. With an uncanny knack for making a complex subject not just accessible but gripping, he investigates what makes good taxation (no, that’s not an oxymoron) and brings that knowledge home where it is needed most. Never talking down or reflexively siding with either wing of politics, T. R. Reid presses the case for sensible root-and-branch reforms with a companionable ebullience. This affects everyone. Doing our taxes will never be America's favorite pastime, but it can and should be so much easier and fairer.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“[C]harming… Reid takes us on a world tour of tax systems and the efforts to reform them. He approaches this most disliked specialty of the dismal science of economics with a wry voice and a light touch… a rich and sturdy fabric of facts presented in plain English. As a longtime Washington Post foreign correspondent, Reid knows how to make the distant seem close. His eye for the telling detail is sharp… Those unfamiliar with economics, accounting or tax law will be better able to understand these subjects by reading “A Fine Mess.”… With enough readers, Reid might even help us to initiate real tax reform by replacing a tax code so complex it includes the anti-complexity rule in Section 7803(c)(2)(B).”—David Cay Johnston, The New York Times Book Review

“A fun book on taxes. It's terrific.”—Fareed Zakaria, CNN's Global Public Square

“An exploration of the absurd complexity of the American tax system and an astute comparison to many examples of simpler, effective tax collection by other governments around the world. Throughout his well-reported, clearly written exposé of United States tax policy, [Reid] reveals the follies of the concept of American exceptionalism and the misguided pride of presidents, members of Congress, and Internal Revenue Service commissioners….Though Reid's topic may be anathema to many readers, he makes it relentlessly revelatory and simple to understand.”—Kirkus Reviews [starred]

“Highly readable and informative…offers solid solutions and predicts the time for change has come.”
— Publishers Weekly

AMERICAN TAXATION

T. R. Reid is a reporter for the “Washington Post”. He is not an economist. However, he suggests there are more equitable ways of taxing the American public than presently used by the government. Reid's travels around the world investigating other countries tax systems are the basis for his theory for cleaning up America’s “…Fine Mess”.

Reid suggests a tax overhaul is due in America. The last major revision was over 30 years ago. He argues a mess has been created by incremental tax changes that have greatly exacerbated the wealth gap in America. Reid illustrates the many ways in which the American tax system is a mess. An often-quoted factoid is “Warren Buffet is taxed at a lower rate than his secretary”.

There are many economists that would agree with Mr. Reid. The most famous is the French economist Thomas Piketty who wrote “Capital in the Twenty-First Century”.

Incremental change of the tax code only makes it less intelligible. In Reid’s opinion, it is all or nothing. Reid implies “go big” or “go home” because nothing will change if the entire tax code is not replaced.

Listened to it twice!

Recommend this book to anyone, regardless of your familiarity with taxes, etc. Very engaging and educational -- a feat that few books accomplish!

Amen. Hopefully very Timely.

All should listen and or read the book. we need to get past the lobbyists and their influenced politicians. Would be great if America could be smart and do something great ... again ... simplify.

puts tax policy into an understandable context

good basic overview on the need, benefits and methods of taxation. Helps keep the dinner arguments in perspective

Very Imformative.

So the author seems ti think that, although the poor are not getting any poorer, the rich getting richer is still a,terrible thing, this book is well researched and very imformative.